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Forum Challenge Announcements

With so many different forums and sub-forums around the boards, it can be hard to keep track of exactly what is going on where and consequently people sometimes miss out on challenges they might have liked to be involved in. This is especially a problem since we moved to our new home, as the 'what's new' button doesn't always show up everything you've missed.

From now on, every time a forum mod starts a new challenge, they will post the details and a link to the challenge in this thread. Hopefully this will give members one place to check out exactly what is happening all over the boards.

Adrian won a QSQ! Thanks to Minnabird for the beautiful banner. Click on it to read Stolen Magic - the story of the second wizarding war through a very different character's eyes.

Now in its third year, the Review Drive is responsible for hundreds of reviews to stories which may not have been noticed otherwise. Also, the wonderful reviewers who have made this possible have earned a lot of points for their efforts. We aim to keep up the pace yet again this year!

Your hard-working moderator (that's me!) scoured the entire archive, category by category, for any story that met the requirements I set. The requirements are as follows:

Stories validated or updated between December 1, 2012 and November 30, 2013.

Of these stories, one-shots or single-chaptered incomplete fics with two or fewer reviews, and

Chaptered stories with an average of one review or fewer per chapter.

This is how the activity works: a maximum of eight points will be available for EVERY story listed. You all review the stories listed, and points will be given based on the quality of your review. This is a great opportunity for members to show a bit of house pride and put up some points. Not only that, it gives the authors of these neglected stories the lovely, warm feeling of receiving reviews.

As mentioned, points will be awarded on the quality of the review. A few lines that say what the reader liked about the story will earn one point, whereas a review with detailed, in-depth analysis and constructive criticism will earn up to four points. The scores to these reviews will be edited in to the review posting thread by a mod, and the points earned for reviews posted will be subtracted from the Points Available for the stories reviewed. If a story has fewer points available than a review has been awarded, you will still receive the full awarded points, as discouraging quality reviewing is rather counter-productive. Reviews for stories which have no points remaining, however, at the time a review is submitted will NOT receive points. You will, in that case, be rewarded by the author's satisfaction instead.

In a reprisal of the original activity that added so much to the rec lists when they were first made, we're calling for all fanfic recommendations and handing out points to anyone who heeds that call.

What do I need to do?
Comb through your favourites and reviews, or even just trawl certain categories to find stories you've read and liked/loved and think other people would enjoy reading.

What do I get if I do this?
Well, house points, of course! Each recommendation carries the possibility of four points: two points for the recommendation post itself, two possible points for reviews. Reviews that would score a 3 or 4 in the Review Drive will earn 2 points; reviews that would garner a 2 or less (let's say a 10 word minimum, and it must be coherent - no keysmash) will gain you 1 point.

Which stories are eligible?
Every last single story on the archives that hasn't already been added to the recommendation threads is eligible. Which stories you recommend will not be judged, but rather that you made the effort to find good fics for your fellow MNFFers. The more, the merrier.

This month, all you Wrocking Wordsmiths out there, your challenge is to take a song from any genre of rock (from light rock to scream-o death metal, and everything in between) and give it a good Potter treatment. Re-write the song (at least 50% of the words) to make it a song that might make it on the Wizard Wireless Network’s rock station.

The rules are simple:

Pick a song that meets the criteria. If you’re not sure, ask one of us, but the spectrum is so broad that it is probably okay.

If someone else used the same song as you, it’s fine as long as your titles/subjects aren’t the same. Otherwise, bagsy goes to whoever got there first.

Rewrite it to make it fit into the magical universe, OR you can rewrite the song to be ABOUT the magical universe.

'It's Not You, It's Me'- The Three Broomsticks February Heartbreak Challenge

"Welcome to Dumpsville, Baby. Population - You!"

~Homer Simpson

Everyone has their own special way of telling someone it's over. The one above is succinct and exceedingly tactless, but So Very Homer! And your challenge for February (The month of love ♥) is to have a Harry Potter character write a letter to the person they're currently with telling them it's over. You must pay attention to characterisation, though. Crabbe quoting Shakespeare isn't going to happen, although Draco telling Harry he can't see him anymore is ... possible.

There's a catch: You must write the letter from one of the gentlemen (?) listed. Also because this is an exercise in characterisation, there aren't any NG characters listed or very minor characters. You may think you know Anthony Goldstein's character inside out, but there's virtually nothing in canon, so tough!

See the thread in The Three Broomsticks for more details. Closing date 28th February.

Our Halloween Drabble Contest takes a bow in its fifth and final year, and since it's our last, we're extending the word count once again. This time, we're stretching the word "drabble" to mean 3000 words. Send us your tales of terror for the last chance to have your story brought to life by the MerMuggle team and read to the world on AudioFictions!

Rules

Story length cannot exceed 3000 words

Story must be Halloween-themed

This episode will add sound effects to the winning submission(s); please try to include moments and narrative descriptions that will inspire a strong sound design for your story

Original characters are permitted, but the focus of the story must be on canon characters

No song lyrics for copyright purposes

Keep ratings at or below 3rd-5th Years, with minimal warnings

If you are able, have your story overviewed by a beta to avoid spelling/grammar issues (this is a preference more than a requirement)

Post your completed story as a response to this thread or E-mail it to mermuggles@hotmail.com; you are not required to submit your story to the MuggleNet Fan Fiction main site, although you are permitted to do so

One entry per person

All stories must be submitted by 11 PM (MST) on Wednesday, October 15th

When submitting your story, include the below information preceding the story in the following format:

Code:

[B]Title:[/B] [B][U]Paste Title Here[/U][/B]
[B]Author:[/B] (Your screen name and/or your real name: what you put is what we will credit you as in the episode)
[B]Warnings:[/B]
[B]Ratings:[/B]
[B]Summary:[/B] [I]Paste Summary Here[/I]

Winners

Winner(s) will be selected by AudioFictionsís MerMuggle Reader team

For winning, your story will be read aloud, with sound effects, and credited to you by a MerMuggle reader in the 2014 Halloween episode of AudioFictions

If you have any questions, post them in this thread or E-mail the MerMuggles and they will be answered by Lupinpatronus as soon as possible.

This month we are taking some classic (and modern) Christmas songs and giving them a Harry Potter twist. You will find a list of titles and all you have to do is choose one (or more) to base your poem on. We have a mix of popular Christmas carols, traditional hymns and more alternative songs. So look through them, pick one that tickles your fancy and go for it! You can go with the original music or just write a completely new poem to fit the title. The choice is yours. The original carol/song title is in brackets. I'm sure there is something to suit everyone, and why not go wild and google some of the titles you're unfamiliar with?